Oil spill response system tested in Honolulu Harbor

HONOLULU – Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Kukui and members of the District Response Advisory Team conducted an exercise in Honolulu Harbor to test the cutter’s Spilled Oil Recovery System, Thursday.

The annual exercise is conducted to test both the equipment and the crewmembers response in the event of an oil spill. The goal of the training is to ensure the crew’s efficiency in using and deploying the equipment in order to minimize response time.

“This equipment that we’re using on the Coast Guard Cutter Kukui is unique to its own platform,” said Lt. Ryan Dickson, a member of the District 14 District Response Advisory Team. “Each Coast Guard cutter has its own system built in, pre-positioned and stored within the vessel. So everywhere it goes it has the opportunity and the capability to respond to an oil spill at a moment’s notice.”

The system was widely used during the Deepwater Horizon response in 2010. The Spilled Oil Recovery System was designed for use with 225-foot Juniper class cutters, like the Kukui. The Kukui’s Spilled Oil Recovery System is just one of the tools the Coast Guard has to protect the sensitive marine ecosystems of the Hawaiian Islands. Marine environmental protection is one of the Coast Guards key missions.